From Rajit kapur to Abir Chatterjee: Actors who have played Byomkesh Bakshi with elan

On the death anniversary of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, the creator of Byomkesh Bakshi, we take a look at some of the acting powerhouses who have maintained the celluloid attraction of the iconic Bengali sleuth over the years.

He was perhaps Indian television's first Byomkesh Bakshi, who played the character to perfection. With his assistant Ajit, played by KK Raina, Bomkesh solved every problem with elan — in his imitable style. The other highpoint of the show was Kapur and Raina's on-screen chemistry. The series was first aired in 1993 and ran till 1997.

Abir Chatterjee as the eponymous detective remains the most popular among all. He has portrayed Byomkesh in both Anjan Dutt and Arindam Sil’s films over the years and has become symbolic to the iconic sleuth winning many a million hearts. While with Anjan Dutt he has done ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’, ‘Abar Byomkesh’ and ‘Byomkesh Phire Elo’, Arindam Sil and Abir bonding over Byomkesh films started with ‘Har Har Byomkesh’ in 2015. Then is 2016 released ‘Byomkesh Pawrbo’. After a long gap of two years he was again seen as the Satyanweshi in Arindam Sil’s 2018 release ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’.

The terrific actor nailed it as Byomkesh in the OTT world. Anirban proves once again that he’s a natural when it comes to getting into the skin of characters. He plays the master sleuth with elan, never once deviating from the traits the character demands. He also defines the subtle progression of Byomkesh Bakshi from a young and energetic beginner to a seasoned and mature individual to perfection.

Without any discrimination, Jisshu managed to earn respect from the cinelovers as much as Abir slipping into the character of detective Bakshi. Jisshu, with a calm composure in his face, delivers the look of a listener, someone who prefers to listen to the entire matter, then do some private investigation and only then form a conclusion to get an answer.

Chiriyakhana is a minor Ray film rarely seen outside Bengal. A whodunit, the story revolves around private detective Byomkesh Bakshi, played by matinee idol Uttam Kumar. In an interview with a magazine, Satyajit Ray had once described Chiriyakhana (The Zoo) as his most unsatisfying film. He said, “Chiriyakhana's a whodunit, and whodunits just don't make good films. I prefer the thriller form where you more or less know the villain from the beginning." However, the film got National Awards for Best Direction (1967) while the Best Actor’s award went to Uttam Kumar.

Yet another Byomkesh and yet another story. Another film and another set of actors! Will Bengalis ever get tired of this Bengali sleuth? It seems not. We have successfully established our loyalty for crime thrillers. Parambrata did a good job as Byomkesh in his first out as the sleuth in Sayantan Ghosal’s‘Satyanweshi Byomkesh’ in 2019. Param playing a youngish Byomkesh for the first time can be seen a bit politically conscious.

The highly talented actor has left a mark in the minds of the audience playing the iconic sleuth on the small screen. Paired up with him is his best friend and now wife Ridhima, who plays his wife Satyabati in the show. No wonder their off-screen chemistry gave an extra edge to their on-screen performances.

After the success of Kai Po Che and Shuddh Desi Romance, Sushant was seen as the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi in Dibakar Banerjee's Hindi crime thriller, Detective Byomkesh Bakshi. The film also stars Anand Tiwari and Swastika Mukherjee in principal roles. Banerjee recreated a pre-Independence era Kolkata in the film as it follows the first adventure of the Bengali sleuth, who is fresh out of college.

Satyanweshi was a 2013 Bengali mystery-thriller — the last full-length feature by the late director Rituparno Ghosh. Playing the sleuth was yet another popular filmmaker, Sujoy Ghosh. Based on the story, Chorabali, by Saradindu Bandopadhyay, the plot follows the original storyline, with a few creative improvisations by Rituparno. So, guided by Rituparno, here we saw Sujoy trying to portray Byomkesh in a new light.